Review
Genre and Mood
Parra for Cuva and Anna Naklab made Small Flowered as melodic deep house with a pop voice, the quieter middle of their first EP. Its label, Délicieuse Records, wrote that it “oozes of mind blowing sensuality”, which gives this page its sultry, and that “a melodious air” sends the listener “further into the depths of our imagination”, which gives it its dreamy.
Song Summary
Small Flowered is the second of three tracks on Fading Nights, the EP that Délicieuse of Bordeaux released on 8 May 2013, its sixth release and the start of its work with Parra for Cuva; Naklab sings on all three. The label spells the title Small Flowerd. It runs six minutes and thirty-eight seconds, between the seven-minute title track and Swept Away. The label’s French notes heard “a formidable moment of plenitude” in it and admired the natural, breathtaking ease with which the pair handle their tools.
Musical Breakdown
No source we found times this recording or walks through its parts, so this guide follows the label’s notes and leaves the rest to your ears.
Intro
On the EP, Small Flowered arrives right after Fading Nights; the French notes say there is barely time to settle in before it begins. Listen for how the mood shifts from the title track.
Main Section
The label describes a fresh, melodious breath that catches the listener. Follow the melody, and listen for Naklab’s voice against the synthesizers that the label credits to the producer, Nicolas.
Concepts in Focus
A <a href=“https://korczis.github.io/sonic-playground/concept/featured-artist/” class=“concept-link font-medium text-primary-700 underline decoration-dotted underline-offset-4 hover:decoration-solid dark:text-primary-400” data-concept=“featured-artist” title=“A guest performer credited on another artist’s track, usually as “feat.”: a rapper’s verse, a singer’s hook or a second voice. Features bring together different styles and audiences and are central to hip-hop, R&B and dance music.“>featured artist credit names a guest, but Naklab is more than that here. She and Nicolas Demuth grew up as neighbours in the same town and made music together as Nianband, and the label called her his faithful sidekick; the credit “feat. Anna Naklab” sits on every track of the EP, including this one, which she sings.
A remix came soon after: the label promised a second EP with a remix of each track, and Small Flowered was reworked there by Denis Yashin. Compare the two, and hear what a remixer keeps of a melody this gentle.
Artistic Context
Parra for Cuva is Nicolas Demuth, born in 1991, who grew up near Göttingen, learned piano at eleven, turned to jazz improvisation and moved to Berlin to study audio design. Anna Naklab, born Annika Klose in Göttingen in 1993, grew up in nearby Northeim. The EP’s title track, Parra for Cuva, Anna Naklab – Fading Nights, is built on a long, insistent beat; Small Flowered is its softer neighbour.
Impact and Reception
We found no review of Small Flowered beyond its label’s notes, which called the EP’s compositions as beautiful as an eternal dusk. Its later life came through the pair’s next records: later in 2013 they had a hit with Wicked Games, a remake of Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game, and in 2014 Small Flowered was licensed to an Ibiza deep house compilation. Listen to it straight after Fading Nights, the way the EP plays it.
